Still waiting on that email to continue Nalowale Kane. If only time zones from here to Berlin weren't so big. Anyway, I felt the need to write another…something. I don't know what yet, but then again, I never do. And I'm sorry I made One Step At A Time so short! I agree it probably should've been longer, but it snowballed into much more than the simple one-shot I had planned. Maybe if I have time I'll do an extended repost. Anyway, enjoy whatever this turns out to be! Oh, and am I the only one who is getting kind of pissed at the lack of bromance in the show as well as their determination to make Danny seem…I don't know. Mean? Like, in the last episode, they had him almost completely at odds with Steve and were totally making it out that he was unwilling to believe the one guy's story, which is totally against his character. Or Danny always seems to be wrong now. Not happy, CBS. Not happy at all. Although I will grudgingly admit that I don't own anything but the plot I come up with.
*Oh, and in this, it's current season, but Kono's magically back from China. Don't ask.
"Hey! Nakamura! What the hell are you doing?" Steve yelled as he pounded on the door.
"Really McGarrett? I cannot believe you didn't see this coming. Do you ever listen to your partner? I mean, did he not say that I am the stereotypical bad guy?" Nakamura teased. Steve hung his head, knowing it was true. "Well, I have to be going gents. Thanks for the help, see you in hell." With that, Nakamura's cultured English voice disappeared.
"Damn it!" Steve yelled, slamming his fist into the door. "I'm sorry Danny. This is all my fault…Danny?" If his partner was this quiet, he must be really angry. Danny was always ranting about something. Steve turned around, prepared to face Danny's well deserved rage, but the moment he saw his friend's wide and terrified gaze still locked on the door, he instantly realized the reason for Danny's silence. Mentally kicking himself, Steve gently approached Danny.
"Hey, you're okay, man. We've got plenty of room here. This is a pretty big vault." Steve soothed, trying to put Danny's fears at ease. Danny was already pale, sweat beading on his forehead. His breaths were a little quicker than normal. How the hell he had not realized Danny was claustrophobic until recently was beyond him.
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. Lousy way to go, huh? Suffocation?" Danny laughed nervously.
"Hey, we're not going to die, okay? Chin and Kono are gonna find us."
"Yeah, okay." Danny mumbled, sliding down the wall until he was sitting. Steve slid down next to him.
"We'll be alright, Danno."
"You, my friend, are in denial."
"And you, my friend, worry too much."
"Whoa, let's not forget who trusted the bad guy here, Steven. If you had listened to my supposedly unnecessary worryings, we wouldn't be in this mess!" Waving his hand around at the now empty vault they sat in.
"I know." Steve admitted. "I should have listened to you. Nakamura played me, and now he has some of America's biggest secrets. And it's all my fault." Danny heaved a sigh and softened.
"No, he played us all. I had nothing more than a gut feeling and Nakamura did have legit CIA credentials. We just didn't know he was a double agent ready to sell out his country to the highest bidder."
"Yeah, son of a bitch should get an academy award for that performance." Steve grumbled.
"So, what do we do now? No cell service, no weapons, nothing actually. Nakamura cleaned every last file and flash drive from this place."
"What can we do? We're obviously not getting through that door, and trying would just use up what little oxygen we have left." Steve replied dully, his attempts to ease Danny's fears failing. Both men were ridiculously calm, given the situation.
"Speaking of which, did he turn on the fire safety switch when he left?" Steve asked.
"Yup."
"Hmmm, that explains why the air seems a little thin. Guess we should try to conserve our air, then."
"Eh, we're screwed anyways."
"Probably. Why the hell are we so calm?" Steve asked, voicing the question in the back of his mind.
"Oxygen deprivation, most likely." Danny mumbled, yawning. He could feel his eyelids drooping as the oxygen was pulled from the room. The switch's original function was to stop the possibility of a fire by cutting off the oxygen in the vault. Nakamura was a sneaky bastard, thinking of that.
"You tell Gracie you love her this morning?" Steve asked.
"Yeah. Hope she'll do okay."
"She will, she's a good kid." Steve started to yawn too. He was just so tired. Danny took a deep breath, but so little air seemed to make it into his lungs. It felt like an elephant was sitting on his chest.
"What about you? Talk to Mary recently?" Danny asked.
"Last night. Things are good between us."
"That's good. You guys deserve it." Their sentences were becoming increasingly short and simple.
"Any regrets?" Danny asked.
"Silverado maybe…Camaro's way cooler."
"Wouldn't know. Never get to drive it." Steve laughed softly. He was just so damn tired.
"And you? Any regrets?"
"Ahh, that whole Rachel thing. Shoulda tried harder." With his remaining strength, Steve placed a comforting hand on Danny's thigh.
"Something's just don't work." Steve mumbled breathlessly.
"Guess so."
"Never pictured it like this." Steve mused.
"Yeah, where's the…heroic hale of…bullets." Danny managed to ask, earning a weak chuckle from Steve.
"Some kinda heroes we are." They were silent a moment, then Danny spoke up, his voice nearly inaudible.
"Bye Steve. Been a pleasure. Best partner I ever had. Would do it all again." Danny whispered, then let his eyes drift shut. His lids were blue, just like his lips. He went lip and slumped against Steve.
"Me too, Danno. Be with you…in a moment." And Steve let the darkness claim him as well.
H
5
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"Steve! Danny! You guys in there?" Chin yelled through the door. They had just apprehended Nakamura based on a lead of Kamakona's. When there was no reply, he shared a worried look with Kono, then turned to the man behind him. Though he was a senior agent, the CIA man cowered under Chin's glare.
"Get it open, now."
"I-I can't." he stuttered.
"Why not?" Kono demanded.
"Nakamura changed the codes. We don't have access anymore."
"Isn't there a way to override the system?"
"Not in time, no. It would take hours." Chin nodded.
"Alright, then we'll blow it open."
"What?" the man asked.
"You heard me. Go get some C4. I'm not leaving without my guys." The agent nodded nervously and returned a minute later with the explosives and a detonator. Quickly, the other agents rigged the door and Chin detonated the charges. The door was blown off and landed a few feet away. As soon as the smoke cleared, Chin and Kono ran forward towards Steve and Danny's unmoving bodies. They were cold to the touch, their skin pale, their lips blue. Quickly, they carried them out. The paramedics were on their way, but neither man was breathing, nor did they have a pulse. Chin and Kono each began CPR, but their efforts yielded no results. The paramedics arrived, defibrillators at the ready. Steve came back with only one charge. Danny took three. With almost inconceivable speed, the two men were placed on oxygen and loaded into an ambulance. It was all a blur to Chin and Kono. Another nerve wracking ambulance ride. Another waiting room. Another agonizing stretch of time while they waited to hear about their friends. Another kindly doctor.
"We have them on oxygen, but they should be alright. Another minute and we would be seeing brain damage, but I think you got to them in time." They nodded. Another hospital room. Another softly beeping heart monitor. Both men were still dead to the world, but their color had improved a great deal and their temperatures were with in normal range once more.
H
5
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They slept through the night, finally waking late the next morning. Chin and Kono had slipped out for only a moment to notify Steve and Danny's families when the two men woke.
"Mmmmppphhhh…" Steve groaned. "Danny? What's goin' on? Danny? Hey, naptime's over sunshine." Steve said, throwing one of his pillows at the sleeping form in the beds beside him.
"Five more minutes." Danny mumbled.
"Come on, Danno. Wake up. We're in the hospital." At this, Danny roused himself, albeit grouchily.
"Hospital? What the hell? Why are we on oxygen and why the hell does my chest hurt so much?" Danny complained as he massaged his bruised ribs.
"I dunno, but it hurts like a bitch." Moments later, China and Kono re-entered the room and smiled.
"Morning boys. How you doing today?" Kono asked.
"Aww, just peachy." Steve muttered sarcastically, wincing as his fingers hit an extra sensitive spot on his chest.
"What happened?" Danny asked.
"What do you remember?" Chin asked.
"Not much. Think Nakamura was going to get something form the CIA archives." Steve recalled hazily.
"Yeah, well he did. Turns out Nakamura was a double agent, selling American intel to whoever put the most cash in his pocket. He took all the drives from a secure vault, then locked you two in it. When he left, he hit the fire prevention switch that sucks the oxygen out, basically suffocating you two." Chin explained.
"Yeah, when we found you, neither of you were breathing or had a pulse. Scared the crap out of us. We had to give you CPR." Kono added.
"Ah, so you're to blame. I thought I got hit by a bus or somethin'." Danny said, smiling nonetheless.
"Sounds like we got pretty lucky, eh Danno?"
"Agreed, babe."
"You know, I always picture our deaths way more dramatic than that. You know, explosions, gunfire, that sort of thing."
"See, I never used to, but then I got stuck with you as a partner."
"Oh, haha Danny." Steve said as he rolled his eyes. "But seriously, so heroes we are. Probably just went to sleep."
"And what is so wrong with a painless death, Steven?"
"Not a damn thing, Danny. It's better. Just not what I pictured." Steve said.
"Yeah, I know. Some heroes we are. Sleeping on the job and all that." Steve and Danny shared a smile, quirked an eyebrow, then all four of them broke out laughing. So maybe they're not conventional heroes, but they really didn't need the brave, stoic, solitary deaths from the movies. After all, Five-0 had always done things their way, why should heroics be any different?
Short little one shot, just because I'm bored. Hope you all enjoyed it, because it was fun to write!